Out of this World
by oh-ehm-glee
Summary: Blaine is a human from the planet Daltune, but wishes he could live on Earth. When things go awry on Daltune, Blaine's wish is granted and he comes down to Earth and right into Lima, Ohio, and meets the most beautiful boy he has ever seen. Happenings ensue. *it's interesting, I promise, I'm just no good at summaries*
1. and so it begins

**AN:** If you are reading this, I love you. Truly, darlings, I do.

This story WILL have smut, but if that isn't your thing, don't worry. I will put a warning when it comes (no pun intended, but it happened anyway. Oh, how fanfiction has lowered my mind to the gutter...) so you can skip it. Or not.

I would greatly appreciate if you would review with your thoughts and constructive criticism, if you have any. Pretty please with whipped cream and chocolate on top? Or, if those are not to your liking, please with your topping of choice? That would be lovely 3

Once again, darlings, I hope you like this.

Note that this chapter is pretty long, but the others won't be! So don't expect them to be. Ok, now go ahead.

**Chapter 1: ...and so it begins**

Blaine wasn't like the other boys in his class. No, it wasn't because he wore an excessive amount of hair gel or because he didn't wear socks or because he liked to button his shirts up all the way and wear bow ties every day or even that he was gay. None of that helped him fit in with his peers, of course, but the main difference was that this was a whole new world to Blaine—not just McKinley High School, but Earth in general.

Allow me to explain: Blaine came from Daltune, a planet about three light years (approximately one week of travel time in an Agency vehicle) away.

Daltune, his planet of origin, is much like Earth. Its ecosystem and environment are essentially the same—although in admittedly better condition—and, like Earth, Daltune is inhabited by humans. Daltune is smaller than Earth, but other than that, the differences between Daltune and Earth are really more differences in society rather than the planet itself.

Daltune was very modern. Paper and books and pens weren't unheard of, but were extremely uncommon since people found using technology to be much more efficient in most cases. Paper and paint and markers and such were still commonly used in art, but rarely for everyday things. Things were run on both electricity and solar power, but mostly the latter. Everyone had access to technology, and it was considered a basic right to all the planet's inhabitants. The main mode of transportation was the Zipline, which was the lightning-speed (no, literally) public transportation system which went to just about everywhere. It was clean, safe, comfortable, affordable, and efficient, so most people preferred it. If you didn't take the Zipline for some reason, you could also commute by car. The cars on Daltune were quite different than Earth cars, though. For starters, you never had to remember where to go because you simply entered the destination into the keypad at the front of the car and it would take you to the destination. You still needed to operate the vehicle to navigate between other cars and avoid collision, but it kept to speed limits and adhered automatically to signs and signals, so it didn't require much effort on behalf of the driver. It has a manual mode as well, which is pretty much the exact same functionality as an Earth car, but it is only used for emergencies and is rarely necessary. On the rare occasion the car got damaged or needed fixing, there would be a warning. If it got in a crash, it automatically sent off a signal with a location to the nearest emergency service. There were also bikes, but almost no one ever used them.

The inhabitants of Daltune were all very well-mannered and well-educated. There is little to no outright conflict on Daltune, save for in the Ombra Domini. The Ombra Domini was the only Dark place in the whole of Daltune, and very few dared to venture there. It was a shadow land, the only place on the planet where chaos, conflict, and danger ran amuck. It was mostly referred to as Od, as it was a rather odd place, but it was rarely referred to at all. People didn't talk about those things in polite society.

Daltune was definitely polite society. Everything was proper, orderly, controlled, tamed, and organized. People functioned as units. No one person was in complete control or had much dominance at all. Everyone served an important function and all required leadership was directed by councils comprised of elected, fair, capable members. Fashion didn't exist on Daltune because everyone wore the same things. The entire wardrobe of Daltune consisted of the following:

Attire for general use...

-white button-down shirts

-gray dress pants

-knee-length gray pleated skirts

-knee-length gray shorts

-black dress shoes

-red and navy blue striped ties

-navy blue blazers with red piping, gold buttons, and a red Daltune insignia over the heart to signify that all the planet's inhabitants should always have the good of the planet at heart

-navy blue sweaters

-navy blue sweater vests

Attire for cold weather (but not to be worn at formal events)...

-Daltune hooded sweatshirts (white, black, red, gray, or navy)

-Daltune hooded zip-up jackets (white, black, red, gray, or navy)

-raincoats (black, red, gray, or navy)

-red and navy striped scarves

-black galoshes

Attire for sleep/home/athletics...

-sweatpants (black, red, gray, or navy)

-gym shorts (black, red, gray, or navy)

-long or short sleeve casual shirts (white, black, red, gray, or navy) with or without the Daltune insignia

-tank tops (white, black, red, gray, or navy)

Everyone was well-groomed, too. Everyone's hair was neat and all boys gelled their hair down to look polished. Everyone's clothes were cleaned and their shoes were shined. Everyone was very proper and mannerly. The idea of working together was at the core of the society of Daltune. Working together as a unit was how they built their society and it was what maintained order and peace. There was no discrimination based on gender, sexuality, appearance, or anything, really. Daltune was a place of unity, so why create conflict by pointing out everyone's differences, dividing them accordingly, and then treating them differently because of it? It simply wasn't a logical idea. Violence of any kind was prohibited and violators were exiled to the Od, because when you hurt any part of the community, you hurt the community as a whole. Everything that mattered was done in groups—leadership was done by councils, sports were played in teams, projects and assignments were collaborative efforts. Music was yet another group activity. On Daltune, they knew of instruments from their studies of Earth, but did not have or use them. Rather, the only instruments used on Daltune were the voices of its people. All music was acappella, so people needed to work together as a group to produce a full sound.

Blaine liked Daltune. It was safe and it was beautiful and it was nice, but it was nothing special. It was nothing special because there was nothing special. That was the problem for Blaine. Blaine wanted something special, something different and he wanted to be independent. On Daltune, everything was the same and everything was done in groups, creating a sense of unity that was nice but a dependence on others that could be considered unhealthy.

As much as Blaine liked Daltune and loved his friends there, he wasn't a big fan of Daltune society. He felt like he was just one cog in a giant machine. The idea of the individual, in many ways, had been lost on Daltune. People had individual personalities and appearances and experiences, but everything in Daltune society emphasized the importance of the group over the individual, always. Blaine tried as many things as he could to make him feel like he stood out as his own individual. He tried football first, since his father liked it so much and figured that, since he was quarterback, he would stand out, but it wasn't enough. He got involved with boxing and fencing because even though all sports on Daltune were played in teams, those were the two in which the individual members of the team acted on their own and had a moment to shine, though the victory was shared. He liked these things, sure, but none of them made him feel special.

Blaine's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Anderson, had been on some of the most prominent councils on the planet and had high hopes for their children to grow up to serve the fellow people of Daltune in whatever way they felt best. Naturally, when Blaine's older brother, Cooper, expressed an intense interest in Earth studies, his parents were thrilled. They were overjoyed that Cooper seemed to have found his way to serve so early in life: he would be a teacher. He would teach the future generation of Daltune about a subject about which he was passionate, and everyone would be happy. It would be wonderful. They were happy to help him continue with his studies and made sure to get whatever books he needed and whatever Earth items he wanted to study, and he was incredibly fascinated by all of it, especially the films.

As Blaine grew up, he, too, developed a fascination with Earth. Together, he and Cooper would study and figure out how to use all the trinkets and gadgets and instruments from Earth. Blaine took particular interest in the music of Earth and took it upon himself to learn every instrument he could get his hands on. Piano turned out to be his favorite. He listened to all types of Earth music, older and modern, and found he liked many styles of it, especially musicals and Roxie music. Blaine also learned about reading and writing music and began writing songs. He read magazines and enjoyed seeing the vast selection of clothing in styles and colors and patterns of all kinds, and discovered a deep love of color, patterned bowties, and suspenders. He read and learned and loved the idea of Earth, loved how everything was so drastically different. Both Blaine and Cooper were enthralled with the movies and recording of television they got from Earth. Blaine loved all sorts of them and found he had an affinity for musicals and a soft spot for the Disney animated princess movies. Cooper loved it all, too, the television shows, crime dramas, and action movies in particular. They both took up an interest in acting and performing in general and would perform for each other and offer each other constructive criticism. Together, they cultivated their knowledge and their talents. Blaine and Cooper would spend hours gushing about the wonders of Earth, planning their future adventures, and going on and on about how they would live there one day.

At first, their parents thought their starry-eyed wonder and fascination was cute. As they grew, though, Cooper and Blaine took the Earth thing far too seriously for their parents to be comfortable with it. It was fine for their boys to dream of living on Earth as long as it was a far-off fantasy, but now that Cooper and Blaine were older, it became clear that they were truly determined to achieve their goal and turn their dream into reality. This was bad for the Andersons on a number of levels. One was that their boys were incredible and would be a great loss to Daltune if they left. Another was that Earth was dangerous. It was full of people and situations that would inevitably end up in disaster. They loved Cooper and Blaine and, as any parents would, wanted to keep them safe from anything that could hurt them, and they knew that Earth would hurt them.

Much to their parents' dismay, after finishing high school, Cooper got a job as a Spy. It wasn't as cool as it sounded, and he was honestly pretty disappointed to find that it was nothing like being a spy from the Earth movies, but it was still more than he could have dreamed. His formal job title was "Earth Informant." Informants were called "Spies" for short, though, and he just liked being able to say that he was a Spy. Spies were people from Daltune sent to different places on Earth to keep Daltune's knowledge of Earth up-to-date. The people of Daltune felt that it was important to be aware of the matters of Earth, at least in a vague sense, since it was one of the two only other planets they had yet encountered also inhabited by humans, so they sent Spies to keep them informed. They had not yet been able to send Spies to the other planet inhabited by humans, Smythia, as they had not been able to reach it, but Spies were stationed all around Earth. Cooper was stationed in Lima, Ohio. Of course, Spies had to have documentation and such, so each Spy was given the necessary paperwork. For school transcripts, the names of the classes were altered slightly but the grades were the Spy's actual grades. Other paperwork was similar, drawing whatever they could from each Spy's real life on Daltune and making sure to have solid contacts and background set up, but making things up when necessary. All paperwork provided was official legitimate enough to hold up in any Earth court, if need be. The Agency of Informants provided contacts and information for it everything. Each Spy was set up with a backstory, money, a job, and a living space. From that point forward, the Spy leads a normal life on Earth, the only stipulation being that they periodically report back to the Agency with whatever information they specified over video conference on his standard-issue Transmitter (a device somewhere between Earth's laptop and Earth's iPad that also acted as a phone, only it had far superior battery life and storage capacity, not to mention WAY better reception). Cooper was set up in a nice apartment and ended up going into acting like he had wanted to, his biggest gig as the face of Free Credit Rating Today, which was a surprisingly big deal in Lima. He loved his job.

While Cooper was off being a Spy on Earth, Blaine was stuck in Daltune with his parents. Blaine knew that he wanted to follow in Cooper's footsteps and become an Earth Informant. His parents knew, too. They desperately attempted to change Blaine's mind, but he was stubborn. He had his mind set on going to Earth and nothing was going to get in his way. Blaine loved his parents and didn't want to hurt, upset, or disappoint them, but he refused to let them keep him from what he felt he was meant to do and where he was meant to be. He knew his parents loved him and had his best interests at heart, but was frustrated that they didn't make any sense. No matter what Blaine did, he felt like he was a disappointment. In some way or another, he never felt good enough for them. As much as they loved him, they weren't supportive of him doing what he loved. They wanted him to be happy, but they didn't want him to do what he knew would make him happy.

Blaine's plan of action was to finish high school on Daltune to appease his parents, then apply to the Agency to be a Spy. He liked his school on Daltune for the most part. His parents had sent him to the highest-ranking school on the planet—an all-boys Academy called Dalton. Technically, it wasn't the highest-ranking, as it was tied with a smaller all-girls school of the same caliber (a Catholic school called St. Lucy's), but it was still the top and was rather impressive. "Only the best for our baby," his parents had cooed. As irritating as his parents were, though, Blaine had to admit that they picked the best school for him. Dalton was fantastic and he loved it.

Dalton was the most exclusive boarding school on the planet. The dormitories were the most coveted of all dormitories, as they were plush, roomy, well-equipped, well-maintained, and beautiful to boot. All of Daltune was beautiful, really, but the Dalton campus was particularly impressive. There were high ceilings and grand staircases and wide hallways and an elegant vintage feel unlike any other of the extremely modern-looking buildings on Daltune. The food was excellent, and Blaine was able to get his daily fix of medium drip coffee. The sports were good, too, though Blaine wasn't as interested in them as he had once been. He had stopped fencing a while ago and quit football after freshman year. The only sport he didn't stop was boxing and he even started a Fight Club (which he obviously can't talk about). The academics were excellent, as was the school's glee club, the Warblers.

Fight Club was great, but nothing made him happier than the Warblers. The Warblers were his school's glee club (acappella, of course) and were almost like what Earthlings would call "rock stars." They were the best glee club out of all the glee clubs from all the other schools on the planet. In addition to that, though, all the Warblers were great guys. They were like a family, really. His best friends were the other members of the Warblers' Council, Wes and David. He was also really close to Nick and Jeff, the blond and brunette dynamic duo of mischief and silliness. Thad and Trent were pretty good friends, too.

In the Warblers, there were no solos because, technically, everyone was singing at the same time, but there was always someone on lead vocals. More often than not, that someone on lead vocals was Blaine. Singing made Blaine feel alive and was his joy in life. His voice was capable of so many different levels and styles and feelings and was truly unlike any other. Even when he sang other people's words, he felt like himself whenever he sang because he put so much of himself into each and every performance. Singing was the only thing that made Blaine feel truly special.

Music, in general, was more important than air to Blaine. Listening to it, playing it, singing it, composing it...that was what Blaine lived for.

But I digress. Life at Dalton was good for Blaine. He was well-liked by teachers and students, had good friends, had fun, got good grades, got to visit his parents for one weekend a month, and was generally happy.

—

It was a normal day at Dalton when the news came.

It was a Saturday, the last Saturday before he would finish his junior year and get out for summer break. Blaine had just gotten his daily dose of coffee and settled into the extra Warblers practice scheduled for the day. He was sitting on the couch in the Warblers' rehearsal hall, laughing at the scene before him. Nick and Jeff were closing in on Thad, who was turning a deep shade of red. They were playfully teasing him about...something. He wasn't sure what it was this time, as they were across the room, just out of earshot, but they were visible and gesticulated broadly enough to have a rather comical effect. He sunk into the couch and chuckled into his coffee cup, rolling his eyes. All the other Warblers were already here, except for Wes, and were scattered around the room. It was an oddity, really, for Wes to be late. No, actually, more than an oddity. Wes was never late. Wes was always composed and organized and...uptight and was always punctual. When Wes entered, Blaine was about to greet him with his usual grin when he noticed Wes's face. Upon noticing his distress, Blaine's smile rapidly shifted into a look of concern. Wes was a bit paler than usual and was shifting awkwardly. He obviously didn't know how to handle whatever was going on—which, in itself, is bad enough—and wore an expression of pity, pain, concern, fear, and anxiety all at once.

"Are you okay?" Blaine asked.

Wes looked at Blaine, puzzled, for a moment. Then a switch seemed to flip in his brain and he rushed out the words "No, no—I mean, yes, but—you—just—it's...look, why don't you sit back down. You'll probably need to sit back down."

Eyeing Wes warily, Blaine reclaimed his place on the couch, confused. Wes shifted and gulped, seeming to be fighting some sort of panic attack, then took a deep breath and managed "I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry, Blaine."

"Wes, relax, would you?" he said, rising from his seat to give Wes a hug, only to be shrugged off. "You don't have anything to be sorry for, so—"

"No, no, no, it's not that!"

"Then what is it? Breathe, calm down, it'll be fine, just—"

"But it won't be fine!"

"Don't say that, you—"

"Your parents are dead, Blaine!"

Wes's eyes widened and he clapped his hand over his mouth. The room fell silent at Wes's outburst and turned to face Blaine, who froze in shock before sinking back onto the couch with his head in his hands.

The world stopped. He couldn't move. There were voices, but no words. Everything was blurry as tears began to well up in his eyes. He could hear Wes distantly, rushing apologies.

"I'm so sorry! It wasn't supposed to come out like that! It's just, I found out and I knew I had to tell you but I didn't know how and I'm not used to not knowing what I'm doing and you were just being a good friend and I wasn't able to get it out and then I just yelled it in your face and I'm really, really sorry Blaine."

There was a tense silence following the rant, the only sounds were those of breathing. The Warblers looked around, uncertain, wanting to go to comfort Blaine but not knowing if they should. Nick and Jeff were the first to move toward him, immediately followed by David. Thad and Trent followed cautiously behind them. Then Blaine looked up.

"No. They...they can't be."

Silence.

"If this is some sort of sick joke, it isn't funny."

Silence.

"Blaine, I'm sorry—"

"NO!" Blaine yelled. Glances were exchanged among the Warblers. Blaine steadied himself and gulped nervously, then took a deep breath.

"I apologize for yelling. I just..." He took another shaky breath and looked down, trying not to cry, and quietly asking "What happened?"

Stumbling over his words, Wes managed to compose himself enough to deliver the news. "My dad...he was at work, at the hospital, and he was...you know, walking to his next appointment or something...like, in the hallway, and...he saw...your parents were rushed by him on gurneys and...he wasn't sure if it was them, but...he followed and asked and it was them, and...Apparently, they got into a bad car crash. Something went wrong with the car and it went haywire and they crashed. They...they did everything they could, but—"

"But they couldn't save them," Blaine finished.

Wes nodded. "Blaine, I'm so sorry, I really—"

"Wes, don't, it's okay—well, I mean it's not okay—but you didn't do anything wrong."

"The best friend I could wish for, even in personal crisis. _I _should be the one consoling _you _!"

Wes sat next to him on the couch then and put his arm around his shoulder. The other Warblers approached and they all wrapped Blaine in one massive hug as he sobbed.

—

Cooper came back to Daltune from Earth for the funeral and to deal with final affairs. Their parents' will had left them considerably well-off financially and left Blaine in Cooper's custody. The Agency hadn't been faced with this situation before, but eventually produced adequate Earth documentation for Blaine and enrolled him in school for the next year at McKinley High School. They instructed Cooper to fill Blaine in on their backstory and to keep him home for at let a week to explain the social differences and anything else about Lima that he should know. Other than that, the Agency left it to Cooper to incorporate Blaine into his life however he saw fit. They exchanged their money for dollars—the type of Earth currency accepted in Lima—and spent some time gathering and sorting and packing and preparing until they were ready to go. He was excused for his final week of school and was able to take his final exams later.

The whole process of preparing to re-locate to Earth took about two months. Things got better and easier to handle over time with the love, help, and support of his family (namely, Cooper and the Warblers). The two months passed by arduously slowly for Blaine, who had waited his whole life to go to Earth, but somehow when they day of his departure came it seemed it had come all too soon and he found himself at Dalton to say goodbye to his friends. This was the part that hurt the most about leaving Daltune. Sure, he would be able to talk to them all the time with his Transmitter, but he would miss out on so much, on so many memories. He wouldn't get to graduate with the boys and enjoy all the crazy antics and shenanigans of senior year with the class he knew and loved. He'd always planned to leave, he just wanted more time. His eyes had already begun to sting by the time he reached the Warblers' rehearsal hall with his effort to hold back tears. He opened the door to see a red carpet laid out on the ground, leading from the door to the center of the room, where the Warblers stood in formation. They began to sing as the door closed behind him.

_Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road_

_Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go_

_So make the best of this test, and don't ask why_

_It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time_

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.

_I hope you had the time of your life, so_

Blaine couldn't fight his crying any longer and felt his eyes tearing up. The backup vocals went into an interesting and brief transition, becoming more upbeat and somewhat rock-like and even as he cried, Blaine chuckled as he recognized the next song.

_Carry on my Warbler son_

_There'll be peace when you are do-one_

_Lay your weary head to rest_

_Don't you cry no more_

Blaine smirked at the adaptation of the lyrics as he felt his eyes begin to fill with tears. The backups changed again in another flawlessly smooth transition transitioned into the next song.

_'Cuz you've got a friend in me_

_You've got a friend in me_

_When the road looks rough ahead_

_And you're miles and miles from your nice warm bed_

You just remember what we Warblers said

Boy you've got a friend in me

Yeah you've got a friend in me

And as the years go by

Our friendship will never die

You're gonna see it's our destiny

You've got a friend in me

You've got a friend in me

_You've got a friend in me_

Blaine had a huge, bright smile on his tear-stained face and was promptly tackle-hugged by the Warblers, who came running down the red carpet to pounce on him as soon as the number came to a close, laughing and smiling.

"I was definitely not expecting that. That was amazing guys, thank you! And that medley was great. 'Time of Your Life' by Green Day, 'Carry On, My Wayward Son' by Kansas, and 'You've Got a Friend in Me' by Randy Newman, all perfectly blended together. Wow. Also, since when do you listen to Earth music?"

"Well, this is a bit of a special occasion, so we decided to learn some. It's pretty good, really."

"See? What did I tell you?"

"B, if you didn't wear so much gel, I'd be giving you a noogie," joked Nick, to which Jeff added "as it is, he'd probably get his hand stuck." They all laughed more and then David's voice came from beside him.

"We're really gonna miss you, B."

There were murmurs of agreement and sniffles throughout the group, and they all squeezed in a bit tighter as Blaine said "I'll miss you guys, too. So so much."

Too soon, they all finished saying their goodbyes and Cooper and Blaine had begun their week-long journey to Earth. Blaine looked back until Daltune was entirely out of sight, then yawned and fell asleep.

—

By the time Blaine started school, he was pretty well filled-in about life in Lima. Cooper and Blaine had moved to a bigger place—an actual house, not just an apartment—to accommodate them that was really nice and they had settled in and adjusted nicely. Cooper gave him his crash course on Earth humanity as well as his personal bonus course teaching Blaine about the best of Lima. The brothers were close and had fallen into a routine rather quickly and were both happy with their new life.

It was a bit lonely at times, though, for Blaine, since he hadn't yet met anyone his own age. Cooper had been home all the time for a while since they moved to the new place on Earth. They watched Disney movies and discovered the wonders of karaoke and generally had fun brotherly-bonding time that they hadn't had for years since Cooper first became a Spy. It didn't last, though, and Cooper eventually had to get back to work and fly out to Hollywood to shoot the newest commercial for Free Credit Rating Today, so Blaine found himself alone for a while toward the end of summer. He didn't mind though, and used the time to explore the admittedly small town. He ended up spending a lot of time in libraries and book stores and a lot of money on a rapidly amassed collection of bow ties. What Blaine mostly did with his time alone, though, was make music. Since they had a house of their own, they dedicated a room to music. It had a piano, a guitar, a whole bunch of other instruments, a few microphones, sheet music, CDs, a few chairs, a couch, some pillows, and a very small makeshift recording studio in what would have been a large closet. In his spare time, Blaine spent most of his time in the music room singing and writing songs and playing the various instruments.

In a flash, summer was over and Blaine found himself here, at McKinley High School.

—

So, now that you know all that, we can get back to the beginning and go on with the story properly.

Blaine had never been to an Earth high school before, and was overwhelmed with...well, everything.

First, there was the crowd. Not only did this school have many more people than Dalton, they were all crammed into a smaller place. Also, the atmosphere was extremely unlike that of Dalton. Dalton boys had their antics and noise, but there was still an overall pleasant, friendly, polite, somewhat calm vibe on campus at all times. People smiled and acknowledged each other in the halls and everything was at a relaxed pace. Everyone knew everyone else and they were all fairly close-knit. Here, however, in the halls of McKinley, everything was fast-paced. The atmosphere was altogether more hostile and, with so many people, there seemed to be a lack of familiarity among the students. There was much more noise, and it was difficult to maneuver around the swarm of students in the cramped hallways. Some shuffled and shoved along with their heads down, some stopped to talk to their friends, some were doing other things entirely.

It was pretty intimidating, to be honest, but as terrified as Blaine was beginning to feel, he was also incredibly fascinated. Everything, everywhere, and everyone was so different! They were different from what he knew and different from each other as well. There was almost no uniformity whatsoever. In addition to the lack of uniformity, there was also a lack of a uniform, about which Blaine was endlessly excited. Everyone wore different clothes, and each person's style seemed to say something about who the person wearing it was, or wanted people to perceive them. The only uniforms he saw were cheerleading uniforms—which, he was informed, was an indicator that the wearer of the uniform was a member of the cheerleading squad, the Cheerios, and was apparently a big deal. He also noticed that there were some boys wearing letterman jackets, which he knew meant they had been involved in sports, and was warned that most of these guys were not the kindest of people and that it would probably be best to stay away from them. Blaine himself took advantage of his new freedom of dress to wear some of the things he had seen back when he was still on Daltune, reading magazines and such to learn more about the planet on which he so desperately wished to reside. He wore a black polo shirt tucked into red jeans with a white belt and black dress shoes. He also wore a black, red, gray, and white striped bow tie and donned bright yellow wayfarer sunglasses.

Blaine looked very out of place in the halls of McKinley, with his gelled hair, new outfit, and overly happy and enthusiastic attitude, and pretty much generally shouted "HEY, BULLIES! YOU SHOULD PICK ON ME AND CRUSH MY HAPPY SPIRIT!" Blaine, though, was oblivious to this as he tried to find his way to the office.

When he found the office, he walked in to be faced with an exceptionally bored-looking secretary. At the sound of his footsteps, she looked up. She looked about Blaine's age, maybe a few years older, a college-age intern or something. Upon lifting her head, she looked Blaine up and down with judging eyes and he shifted uncomfortably, feeling suddenly nervous.

"May I help you?" she asked as if she thought he was mentally handicapped.

It was only then that Blaine realized he had been standing awkwardly in the doorway for about a minute. He quickly moved to the desk chanting _stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid _in his brain as his face flushed a bit.

"Uh...I'm new."

"Obviously."

_Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid _

"I guess...well, yeah, I mean, I...uh..."

"Okay, it doesn't seem like you're going to talk any time soon, so here's your schedule. Don't lose it. Your locker number and combination are written on the bottom of the page. First bell rings in ten minutes. Good luck."

Blaine nodded as he grabbed his schedule and opened his mouth to say something, but she had already gone back to her work. He stared at the coffee-stained piece of paper in his hand—his schedule—for a minute before mumbling a small "thank you" that garnered no reaction from the girl and setting off to find his locker and his first class.

He quickly found that he would need to ask for help, as he had no idea where he was going. He squinted as he attempted to decipher his coffee-distorted paper and felt a shove from behind him that sent him back to hit the door head just closed, doorknob hitting squarely in the small of his back.

"DON'T BLOCK THE HALLWAY, DUDE!"

Well, this was really not how Blaine had hoped his first day would go. Before he could get too disappointed, though, he turned around and walked into someone.

"Sorry," he stumbled, looking up and saying "I—"

He stopped speaking when his eyes met those of the person with whom he had collided and he froze. He had literally run right into the most beautiful human being he had ever seen in his entire life. The beautiful boy he ran into was pale as a statue and sculpted just as artfully as one. He was a few inches taller than Blaine was and was absolutely stunning. He was lithe, but still obviously strong, and had perfect chestnut brown hair swept up perfectly, finely sculpted features, pretty pink lips, an adorable nose, and the most beautiful eyes he had encountered. Beautiful Boy's eyes looked like galaxies and Blaine thought he might actually be able to get lost in them. They were blue—no, green—no, both at once, and were practically sparkling. The wondrous eyes were appraising him, beginning with caution, shifting to confusion, and settling on curiosity.

"It's fine, I'm used to it. Are you okay?"

Beautiful Boy had spoken to him. His day had, in an instant, _drastically _improved. Now Beautiful Boy was looking at him as if he may be stupid and Blaine realized that he should probably say something in response.

"Oh! Uh...yeah, I'm fine, sorry, just a little out of it."

Beautiful Boy smiled politely and began to turn to walk away, but Blaine grabbed his wrist before he could, blurting "DON'T LEAVE ME!"

Beautiful Boy stopped and looked at him, as though a bit confused and also slightly amused and waited for Blaine to elaborate.

"Sorry. It's just that I'm new here and I'm clumsy and confused and hopeless and could you please help me?"

Beautiful Boy smiled. "Sure."

Blaine let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding in a sigh of relief.

"Did you get your schedule?"

"Um...yeah, it's..." he fumbled for a bit before handing it to him, smiling and chuckling lightly as he did so "It's right here!"

Beautiful Boy raised one of his perfectly groomed eyebrows at the state of said schedule.

"So...I take it you like coffee?"

"Well, um...yeah. Yeah, I do, but that's how the paper was when I got it." What was it about this boy that made him unable to speak like a normal person? Usually, he was incredibly composed and well-spoken, but his tongue chose to knot itself at the very moment Blaine really needed it to, you know, not knot.

As Beautiful Boy's gorgeous eyes scanned the schedule, Blaine figured that Beautiful Boy probably had a name, so he decided to find out what it was.

"So, what's your name?"

Beautiful boy lifted his eyes to meet Blaine's, looking a bit surprised, before answering.

"Kurt. And yours?"

"Blaine!" he said a bit too quickly. "Blaine Anderson," he said, trying to sound a bit less eager.

Kurt smiled small smile, which Blaine quickly decided was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen, and said "Well, Blaine Anderson, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Blaine then gave a big, charming smile and a very sincere "The pleasure is all mine"

They stayed like that for a moment, looking at each other and smiling, before Beautiful B—Kurt, he amended in his head, his name was Kurt—cleared his throat and began in a somewhat business-like tone "Okay, so your first class is in room 205, which is—"

Kurt stopped as his eyes widened at the sight of something over Blaine's shoulder. Blaine turned around to catch a glimpse of slushie cups and letterman jackets before being hit full in the face with red slushie.


	2. Going to be a long day

**Author's Chapter Notes:**

This chapter is much shorter, but I hope you don't mind! !

Please review and comment so I know what you think, darlings! I want to make this as wonderful for you as I possibly can!

**Chapter 2: going to be a long day**

That slushie, it turned out, was only the first of several, though, each member of the group throwing slushie all over Kurt and Blaine as they passed.

Kurt knew what it was like to get your first slushie. You're minding your own business when suddenly, out of nowhere, there is a flash of color, and you freeze. Your eyes sting and you can't see. You're cold, damp, and sticky all over. It feels like you've been bitch-slapped by icicles.

To put it simply, it sucked.

When the first slushie hit and he saw Blaine's body jolt at the sharp pain of the sudden cold, Kurt forgot about his own pain, longing to runt how his arms around Blaine and tell him it would be okay. Kurt didn't know why he trusted Blaine, or why he felt so protective over him. Generally, he was very cautious with new people, but Blaine just seemed...different, somehow. Kurt really wasn't sure how he felt about this yet, though.

The sound of uproarious laughter surrounded them, but faded as its source seemed to advance further down the hallway. Blaine sputtered and shivered and opened his mouth to say something, only to be cut off by the sound of Kurt's voice.

"Welcome to McKinley, Blaine. Sorry about them. Here, come on, let's get cleaned up."

Before Blaine could say anything, Kurt was already dragged him by the wrist to the nearest bathroom.

Once they got there, they helped each other clean up in silence. Blaine was still too much in shock to speak. Once they cleaned up as best they could, Kurt turned to him and broke the silence.

"So...I take it you probably didn't bring a change of clothes?"

"Uh...not really. Um...I brought a tank top, jacket, and gym shorts for boxing later."

Well, fuck. Okay, so Kurt had noticed that Blaine was attractive. In fact, he was, in Kurt's eyes, a perfect human specimen. He was a few inches shorter than Kurt—which Kurt never thought he would like, but apparently he did—and wasn't buff, though he was obviously strong, and had a small waist relative to his body. He had a kind face, with bright, stunning, hazel-brown-green-liquid-honey colored eyes and beautiful, thick eyelashes. His eyebrows were triangular, which was odd but, strangely enough, not at all unattractive. His hair was brown and, though it was gelled like a helmet when he first saw him, its curliness was starting to show since they had rinsed the slushie from his hair. His smile was perfect, charming, dazzling, and sincere. His everything was flawless. And the image of Blaine sweaty and boxing in a tank top and gym shorts was enough to make Kurt's breath hitch and his face flush.

"Are you alright?"

"Um...yeah. Hiccups. I'm fine, really. Uh...you can keep wearing what you're wearing, if you want, but if it gets too uncomfortable you might just want to change into your other clothes."

"Yeah, I think I'll do that."

"You're already late, and you have a good excuse since you're new, so you might want to go to the locker rooms and use the shower to was off any residual slushie stickiness."

"You're have the best ideas, do you know that?"

"Yes, actually. Don't you forget it."

Blaine flashed him a smile and they headed together wordlessly to the locker room. When they got there, Blaine dug in his bag, grabbing a wad of clothes, and disappeared into a shower stall. Kurt went to another shower stall, showering and changing quickly before heading to the mirror over the sink and attempting to do something with his hair. Then, he splashed his face with cold water, took a deep breath and leaned forward onto the sink with a sigh. He stayed there with his head hung down until he spotted Blaine in the mirror and caught himself staring. Luckily, Blaine was occupied with figuring out what to do with his clothes from earlier and Kurt took the opportunity to take in the sight before him.

Blaine was barefoot and was wearing a thin white tank top and a pair of dark red gym shorts. His hair was still damp from the shower, one drop of water beading from a wet curl and falling on his shoulder. Holy. Hell. He was even hotter than he had imagined he'd be underneath his polo and bow tie. Kurt wished Blaine could wear these clothes always, so Kurt could always see the glorious definition of Blaine's surprisingly muscular physique. Kurt continued to gawk at him as he found a plastic bag to put the soaked clothes in, put them away, and change into sneakers. By the time Blaine got up, Kurt had managed (with some difficulty) to tear his eyes away from him.

"Ready?"

"Ready as I'm gonna be."

"Well, your schedule was hard to read before, but now it's hopeless, so we should go to the office and get you another one."

"Sounds good to me!"

Blaine, to Kurt's disappointment, pulled on a gray hooded jacket and zipped it up before grabbing his things and they both set off to the office. Kurt was amazed at how quickly Blaine had bounced back from the morning's events with a smile and a positive attitude. It was a good thing. Kurt wished he could be that resilient.

As they walked, Kurt internally chided himself for what seemed to be a growing crush on Blaine. He didn't even know if he was gay or straight. Honestly, he was probably straight. The only thing that gave him hope that he wasn't was the outfit he had been wearing.

Once they reached the office, Kurt strode up to the bored girl and briefly explained the situation, obtaining late passes for both of them as well as a new schedule for Blaine, then led Blaine outside the office and Kurt led the way to Blaine's first class.

"So, your first class is Spanish in room 205. It will probably be one of the easiest classes you ever take. Mr. Schuester is alright as the glee club moderator, but he's a terrible Spanish teacher. If you want an easy A, then this is the class for you. If you want a bit—and I do mean a bit—more of a challenge, you can ask to switch to French."

"Is that what you take this period?"

"Yes."

Blaine smiled. "Well, that sounds like it might be a good idea, depending."

"Depending on what?"

"Are you good at French?"

"The best."

"Well, as long as you're willing to tutor me, I think I'll be switching to French."

Did he really just _wink _at him? No, he couldn't have. But he did. Oh my god, was hot gorgeous-charming-boxer-adorable new kid actually _flirting _with him? No, he had to be imagining things. Blaine was probably straight. But, still, maybe...

"You said Mr. Schuester is the moderator for glee club, right?"

"I did say that, yes."

"Do you think he'd let me audition?"

Kurt stopped in his tracks. Blaine could not be real. Surely Kurt was dreaming and Blaine was a figment of his imagination. He was polite, charming, nice, sweet, smart (his schedule listed three AP classes), athletic, absolutely gorgeous, _and _interested in joining glee club, which probably meant he could sing? Too good to be true. Except that little thing where he was probably straight.

"Yeah!" Kurt answered a tad to quickly.

Trying to sound less desperate, Kurt continued, "I mean, anyone is allowed to audition and everyone who auditions gets in. We're always happy to have new members."

"Great! When does it meet?"

"Our first meeting of the year is after school today, if you can make it."

"Um, yeah, that sounds cool."

Kurt swallowed nervously, tugging at his Urban Outfitters scarf (he couldn't exactly wear his Alexander McQueen to school and risk it being ruined) as he tried to decide if he should say what he wanted to say. Screw it, might as well.

"If you need any help picking an audition song, I'd be happy to help. We can meet up at lunch since wehave the same lunch. Or we could meet up later, since we both have a free period for the last class of the day before glee. Or, you know, something. If you want."

"Thank you for your generous offer, but I think I know what I'm going to sing." Kurt's face fell slightly. "But, could I meet up with you at lunch anyway? You've been really helpful and I'd really like to get to know you better. Besides, someone needs to fill me in on how this place works."

Kurt smiled wide and suppressed a happy squeal and inside he could feel his heart jump for joy. "Of course. I would be happy to teach you about the inner workings of the hellhole otherwise known as William McKinley High School."

"You have a nice smile, Kurt. Well, um, thanks, and...uh...I guess I'll see you at lunch."

Before Kurt could articulate a response, Blaine had turned and disappeared into the classroom.

"Bye, Blaine," he whispered to no one.

He sighed heavily and made his way to class, his heart racing. He couldn't wipe the stupid lovesick grin off his face and he knew he wouldn't be able to focus on anything. At least he didn't have to think much in this class. He handed his late slip to Monsieur Prideaux and took his seat with another sigh. This was going to be a long day.

**Chapter End Notes: **

Thank you for reading!

Reviews and comments are glitter. I love glitter. Please leave some for me.

Your shimmery input is appreciated.


	3. Slips and Slipups

**Chapter 3: slips and slip-ups**

When Kurt went to his second period of the day and sat down in his seat between Tina and Mercedes in the back left corner of the room, both girls eyed him suspiciously.

After a bit more staring, Mercedes spoke up. "What are you so happy about?"

"I mean, we're happy that you're happy," Tina clarified, "but it's the first day of school. No one is ever this happy on the first day of school. And I don't think I've seen you this happy _ever _. You might have come close when we did that Gaga number a while ago, but not even then, really, so, what I mean to say is—"

"What's up with you today, boy?!" interjected Mercedes.

"Yeah, that. Pretty much."

Kurt panicked. Should he tell them? I mean, they were his friends. At the same time though, it was pretty embarrassing. Instead of deciding, he babbled. "I remember when we did the Gaga number. That was fun. We should do another one, I really think 'Born This Way' would suit our group rather nicely, and—"

"Oh, HELL to the no, you cannot change the subject. Spill."

Both girls looked at him expectantly and he realized he had no choice. He huffed and, in a single breath, offered an explanation so fast it might as well have been one word.

"I-ran-into-a-guy-this-morning-who's-new-here-and-he-was-amazing-and-we-got-slushied-and-we-helped-each-other-clean-up-and-then-he-was-in-boxing-clothes-and-really-hot-and-I-helped-him-find-his-first-class-and-he-wants-to-join-glee-club-and-I-think-he's-straight-but-there's-a-minuscule-chance-he-might-be-gay-but-it's-probably-wishful-thinking-and-I-really-like-him-and-I'm-seeing-him-again-at-lunch."

He flushed red, cursing his complexion for its transparency, and held his breath waiting for their reaction. Both girls were looking at him with shocked expressions for a bit before simultaneously breaking into excited grins and scooting their desks closer to his.

"Tell us everything. Now."

Blaine discovered that Kurt was right about Spanish class. Even if it had been an amazing class, though, he would have still requested to switch to French just to be with Kurt. Kurt, the most incredibly enthralling person he had ever met. It took extreme effort not to gape constantly around him. Blaine had been stunned by Kurt's appearance at first—not because he was shallow, but because it was the first thing he encountered when he met Kurt—because he was so stunning. Then, as his time with Kurt went on, he found his fascination with the beautiful boy growing. He was perfect. Another thing about Kurt that intrigued Blaine was how wonderfully _different _he was from everyone he had ever encountered. Not only was he different, but he was... superior, in a way. Not full of himself or condescending, but his differences just seemed to make him _better _than everyone else. He dressed like no one else, with distinctive, creative, high-quality, impeccable taste. He moved with a sensual grace unlike any other. He was beautiful, his distinctive smooth pale skin, galaxy-like eyes, pretty pink lips, perfect chestnut-colored hair, and lithe figure that was also strong and toned. His broad chest, muscular arms, and surprisingly masculine hands contrasting with the more delicate aspects of his appearance in a way that made Blaine's breath hitch just thinking about it. His personality was different than that of anyone he had ever met. His voice had an almost musical quality and Blaine couldn't wait to hear him sing, knowing the sound would be shocking, wonderful, and unique like every other aspect of the boy. While he was so very different, though, he wasn't unreachable. He still seemed relatable and warm, even though (to Blaine, at least) he was obviously far superior to every other creature ever created.

He didn't absorb much of his first few classes, his mind occupied with thoughts of Kurt, which were far more compelling than any of the mediocre lesson plans of the teachers. With the newly obtained schedule, he was able to navigate well enough. He found his locker and only got lost a few times. He got all the textbooks from his teachers (except for Mr. Schuester) and he organized his locker as best he could during the intervals between classes. He had one free period, since the AP Calculus BC class had been cancelled due to lack of students. The only two who had signed up for the class were Blaine and a girl named Quinn, who seemed nice enough, but they didn't talk. Instead, they both decided to get a head start on other things—homework and such. Apparently, they were to be moved to the AP Calculus AB course for the rest of the year, unless anyone dropped the class, in which case, they would be relegated to the same Calculus class as the other students. They worked in comfortable silence, save for the teacher tapping his foot and staring angrily at the clock. Wasn't that what the students were supposed to do? Oh, we'll, it didn't matter. All that mattered right now was Kurt.

When, at last, the lunch bell rang, he fought the urge to shove everyone in the hallway to get to the cafeteria faster, to get to Kurt faster. When he finally arrived at the cafeteria, he looked around and gulped. So. Many. People. It was honestly a bit terrifying, having come from a much smaller school, but his anxiety was assuaged as soon as he saw Kurt's face. He stared for a moment until Kurt looked up and noticed him, face lighting up as he smiled wide and beckoned him over. Blaine smiled back and began to make his way over. He saw Kurt gesturing to the others at the table to move over to make room next to him and his stomach flipped. Could this glorious creature actually like him? He dismissed the thought as quickly as it came, focusing on getting to Kurt.

Unfortunately, he didn't seem to be focusing enough, and he felt himself falling. Confused, he looked around and found he had slipped on a banana peel. _ Fantastic. How to entice a guy. _Well, it was effective in bringing him closer to Kurt—or, rather, in bringing Kurt closer to him—because as soon as Kurt saw Blaine fall, he rushed to his side.

"Are you always this clumsy, or are you just freaking out so much that you've lost your coordination? Are you okay?"

"My butt hurts a bit, but I'm fine." _Really? Had he really said that? _"And, um, freaking out. I'm usually quite graceful."

Kurt's look of concern gave way to one of amusement. "I'm sure." Kurt took Blaine's hand to help him up and Blaine felt a sudden jolt of electricity shoot through him, warming up his insides and awakening the butterflies in his stomach. "Come on, I'll introduce you to my friends. They're all in glee club, so you'll see a lot of them if you join. We're a lot like family."

Blaine felt a small pang of homesickness as he thought about the Warblers and how they had been a family to him, but it was soon forgotten as Kurt took his hand and dragged him through the crowd toward the table. When they got there, Kurt sat down and Blaine settled in next to him, perhaps a bit closer than was absolutely necessary.

Kurt was about to speak when suddenly a small girl in a dreadful sweater with dark hair and bangs reached out across the table to him with an extremely enthusiastic smile on her face.

"Hello! My name is Rachel Berry and I am the lead soloist of our glee club," many of the others at the table rolled their eyes at the comment, "the Mckinley High New Directions."

Blaine choked a bit on the apple juice he had been drinking. _Smooth, Blaine. Attractive. Way to make an impression on the boy of your dreams._

"The _what _?

"The New Di-rec-tions," she annunciated more carefully.

Oh. _Oh. _Oops. Wow, had he heard that wrong. He blushed up to his ears with embarrassment. Maybe it was because he was thinking inappropriate things being so close to Kurt? He noticed some of the others at the table smirking and snickering—especially the tan guy with the mohawk near the end of the table, who seemed about to explode with suppressed laughter—and relaxed a bit, since it was obviously a common mistake.

"Mr. Schue had good intentions when naming our group, but didn't think it through enough. _Anyway,_ I hear from Kurt that you are thinking about joining our group of merry music-makers. As such, I feel it is my obligation to inform you that, should you ever be in need of a duet partner, I will try to make myself available to you."

"Well, miss Rachel Berry, it's a pleasure to meet you." Kurt actually snorted a bit trying to hold back laughter, earning a glare from Rachel. "I have actually never had the opportunity to duet with anyone before, although I'd really like to someday. Unfortunately, Rachel, I think I will decline your generous offer for now. I always wanted to duet with a guy. Kurt, would you be willing to duet with me?"

Blaine shouldn't be allowed to say things like that. He should not be allowed to say perfectly innocent things that make Kurt's mind conjure up not-so-innocent things. He shouldn't be allowed to say things like what he just said.

_"I have actually never had the opportunity to duet with anyone before, although I'd really like to someday. Unfortunately, Rachel, I think I will decline your generous offer for now. I always wanted to duet with a guy. Kurt, would you be willing to duet with me?"_

What the actual fuck. NOT OKAY. Especially not okay because when he said things like what he just said, he made Kurt reply with stupid things, like he just had.

"I would _love _to do it with you!"

The entire table went quiet and stared at him in shock, save for Puck, who was actually laughing out loud at the scene before him. Blaine wore a shocked, pleased, and amused expression. Puck was tearing up due to the force of his laughter. A few seconds went by before Kurt realized what he had said and rapidly reddened.

"DUET!" he squeaked, "I mean, I would love to sing a duet with you!"

Everyone at the table was laughing now and Kurt wanted to crawl into a hole and die.

"Shut up!" he said, no avail, before hiding his face in his hands and murmuring _"oh my god, just let me die."_

A calloused hand reached out to grab Kurt's and pull it gently away from his face, revealing an amused looking Blaine. "I wouldn't let you die, Kurt, the world would be so dull without you." Kurt then met Blaine's eyes with what must have still been a very embarrassed face, as Blaine continued to speak "Relax, it's fine. Everyone trips over their words sometimes. This trip just happened to be slightly more entertaining than others. Come on, you look like you're not going to eat much, anyway. Want to show me around the school some more? Like I said, I'd really appreciate your help figuring this place out."

Kurt was about to agree when Puck regained enough breath to speak up.

"So, Hummel, gonna introduce us to the boyfriend?"

Both boys attempted to stutter a response at once, each unable to formulate intelligible words for a few seconds until finally Kurt managed "We're not—I mean, we aren't—he's not my boyfriend! I mean, we met today and he's a boy and my friend but not my _boyfriend _." Kurt saw Blaine's face fall a bit out of the corner of his eye, and quickly added "not that it would be a bad thing if we were. In fact, if he were gay, I'd probably be pining over him and trying to figure out a way to win his affections, but he's not, so—"

"You'd pine over me and try to win my affections?"

Oh crap. He freaked Blaine out, he just knew it. It was nice while it lasted. He would need to organize an emergency girls' night to help him recover.

"Well, um...I..."

"There's no need for that. I am gay and I happen to like you very much."

Puck was watching the action like it was his favorite movie, and had been all along, really. The rest of the table was in shock. Mercedes and Tina exchanged significant looks and squealed with excitement, Finn seemed confused (as usual), Quinn's interest had been piqued, Rachel's mouth was hanging open unattractively, Santana looked entertained, and the others had reacted somewhere in that range. Brittany leapt from her seat and ran to Blaine, embracing him enthusiastically and turning her head toward Kurt, joyfully exclaiming "Kurt! You found a dolphin buddy!" and proceeding to wrap her arms around both of them at once to pull them all together in a tight group hug. Then, she skipped back around the table and went to cuddle with Santana. At Blaine's bewildered expression, Kurt answered his unasked question by saying "That's Brittany. You get used to it. She's really nice."

Then he leaned closer. "So, you really like me...and I really like you...now what?"

"Kurt, would you do me the great honor of accompanying me on a date?"

Kurt smiled "I would love to."


	4. An Eventful Day

**Chapter 4: An Eventful Day**

Kurt was positively thrilled. He felt warm and fuzzy inside and was bubbling over with happiness ever since Blaine had asked him out. He still wasn't sure it had happened. He thought he'd fallen asleep during class and had a pleasant dream, but found that was not the case when Tina had pinched him. When Kurt had said "pinch me, I'm dreaming," he really hadn't meant it literally. It didn't matter, though, because_Blaine asked him out. _Blaine, the boy of his dreams, was gay and liked him and asked him out on a _date. _It seemed too good to be true, yet it was. The butterflies in Kurt's stomach fluttered all day in anticipation of glee this afternoon.

Blaine smiled for the rest of his day. He was pretty sure some people thought he was insane, but he didn't care because he had asked the most beautiful boy in existence on a date and he had actually accepted. Blaine was going to go on a date with Kurt, the most beautiful boy in the universe. He phrased it about a hundred ways in his head before the final bell rang and he hurried to glee, feeling light and giddy as he made his way to the choir room.

Kurt had been nervous that Blaine had decided against joining glee club, but he smiled when he saw Blaine stumble in a bit late with a sheepish smile. His stomach did a flip when Blaine came to sit next to him, and Mercedes nudged Kurt and shot him a grin. Kurt didn't listen to anything Mr. Schue was saying, too focused on being so close to Blaine and wondering what he was going to sing and what he was going to sound like when he did. His attention returned, though, at the sound of Blaine's name.

"Blaine! It's a shame you're dropping Spanish, but I'm happy to see you're interested in glee! Did you prepare anything to sing for us?"

"Uh," Blaine gulped and Kurt felt him fidget nervously beside him. Instinctively, Kurt put his hand on Blaine's to comfort him. When he realized what he'd done, he was about to retract it, but then saw Blaine look shocked for a moment before his face lit up and he gave Kurt a huge, bright smile that made the corners of his eyes crinkle up.

"Yeah, I do. I don't have the music for it, but I can play it on the guitar."

"Great! O-kay! Whenever you're ready."

Blaine hesitated, then got up, walked to the band area, and picked up an acoustic guitar, then made his way front and center to introduce himself.

"Hi, I'm Blaine Anderson. I'm not sure if you'll know this song, and I don't really know what kind of song I was supposed to sing, but I hope it's alright. Also, it happens to kind of go with the assignment you just gave, you know, singing a song relating to something that happened in your life recently. So, I'm going sing 'Stranger' by Chris August."

Blaine glanced at Mr. Schue, who nodded his head encouragingly, and then began to sing. [song: tumblr_ 3 ]

_Stranger, till I hear your laughter_

_Crazy, cause you're all I'm after_

_It's a pleasure, It was nice to have met you_

_And I'll remember_

_To never forget you_

Kurt couldn't take it. For so long, nothing had gone his way, so now that his luck had changed, he almost couldn't process it. Blaine had a beautiful voice. Words really couldn't do it justice. It was so expressive and had a unique quality and tone to it. It was somehow rough and smooth at the same time and it was wonderful. It was also incredibly sexy, like the rest of him. Kurt almost couldn't believe that he was going on a date with this magnificent, otherworldly being.

_Cause when I'm excited,_

_I don't hide it, just to let you know_

_I'm feeling you baby from bottom to the top,_

_How could I not stop to say hello_

So hello there,

How are you amazing

It's nice to finally meet you,

Been patiently waiting,

Been waiting just to see you,

To tell you I dreamed you,

Now I found you so call off the search

_Cause I found my stranger _

Blaine looked up then, staring directly at Kurt. Suddenly, it dawned on Kurt that _oh my god, he is singing to me. _

_Stranger, till they call your name_

_It's amazing, it's such a simple thing_

_I see you walking, don't you walk too far_

_I may be nervous but I wanna be where you are_

Cause when I'm excited,

I don't hide it, just to let you know

I'm feeling you baby from bottom to the top,

_How could I not stop to say hello _

Other members of the glee club seemed to be catching on now that Blaine was singing to Kurt and were exchanging looks with and nudging each other.

_So hello there,_

_How are you amazing,_

_It's nice to finally meet you,_

_Been patiently waiting,_

Been waiting just to see you,

To tell you I dreamed you,

Now I found you so call off the search

Cause I found the

Strangest thing that I ever did feel,

I had to make you smile just to prove it's real,

It was the lack of starving attention

So if you're feeling the symptoms today

All you gotta do is say...

Hello there,

How are you amazing

It's nice to finally meet you,

Been patiently waiting,

Been waiting just to see you,

To tell you I dreamed you,

Now I found you so call off that search

Cause I found my stranger

Cause I found my stranger

_I found my stranger_

The final strum rang out and the room burst into applause.

"Welcome to glee club, Blaine! We're glad to have you!"

Blaine seemed happy, but still a bit nervous. He looked at Kurt, as if for approval, and as Kurt smiled, Blaine brightened up and they began the rehearsal.

"That was a great example for the assignment! So, as I was saying, this week..."

Mr. Schuester went on about the assignment again, but Kurt still didn't care. His focus was solely on Blaine.

Glee had been fun. The best part of it for Blaine, though, was Kurt's reaction to his song. Well, that and being able to sit next to Kurt for almost an hour.

When the bell rang and he noticed Kurt getting ready to leave, he quickly grabbed Kurt's hand as he had reached for his bag.

"So, before you go, could we exchange phone numbers or something? Also, we haven't really talked about our date."

_Our date. _ Yes, that sounded very nice.

"Sure! Switch phones?"

"Huh? Oh, right, of course!"

They switched phones and entered their numbers before trading back.

"So...Kurt, would you do me the honor of joining me for dinner at the Milano Café this Friday evening?"

"The Milano Café?"

"It's a place I found when I moved here. It's really good. We could go somewhere else if you wanted to, though, I—"

"Blaine, it's fine. I'd be happy to."

"Great! What time would be best for you?"

Kurt thought for a moment. He would have to get ready, but other than that...

"Seven."

"Seven it is, then! I'll pick you up at seven."

They both started to leave, and Blaine was giddy. He was skipping to his locker when he realized something that sent him racing to the parking lot.

"KURT!"

Kurt turned from where he was opening the door to his black Navigator to face Blaine.

"I don't know where to pick you up!"

"Blaine, you do realize you could have called me, texted me, or just asked me tomorrow, right?"

No, he didn't. _Stupid, stupid, stupid _

"Well...it's just better talking to you in person, I guess."

Kurt chuckled and ducked his head before getting in the car, rolling down the windows, and saying "Goodbye, Blaine!"

"Goodbye, Kurt."

Now all he had to do was plan the perfect date. The only problem was that Blaine hadn't really been on a date before and had absolutely no clue as to what to do. He had only one option now: ask Cooper for help.

This was certainly turning out to be an eventful day.


	5. The Brother and the Plan

**AN: **This chapter is teeny-tiny, but they won't all be this way, I promise.

**Chapter 5: The Brother and the Plan**

When Blaine got home, he put down his things and took a deep breath, bracing himself.

Blaine knew that Cooper would have a lot of fun with this. He also realized how easily Coop could embarrass him. He also knew that he had no alternative.

"COOP?"

"IN THE OFFICE, LITTLE BROTHER!"

The office wasn't really an office. It was the closest thing they had to an office, but it wasn't one. It was a simple room with a whiteboard (sometimes it helped Blaine to work things out, and Cooper liked to doodle on it or use it to outline plans for elaborate pranks), a desk, chairs, bookshelves, and cabinets where they kept paperwork-type things. It was the only "serious" room in the house. Blaine put down his things, took off his shoes, sweater, and bow tie, and headed to the office. Cooper's back was facing him, but soon as he stepped into the room, Coop swiveled the chair around and made a somewhat ridiculous face.

"I've been expecting you."

Blaine gave Cooper a look, one that clearly said _Seriously? Now is not the time for your shenanigans. _Cooper maintained his position until the corner of his lips quirked up into a smile and he chuckled.

"I've always wanted to do that!" Another look from Blaine. "Okay, okay. Lighten up. What do you want?"

"I need your help," mumbled Blaine.

At that, a grin resembling that of the Cheshire cat spread across Cooper's face. "I'm sorry, I didn't quite hear that. What did you say?"

"I need your help."

"I'm sorry, could you speak up a bit?"

"I NEED YOUR HELP!"

"Hush, now, calm down. No need to shout." Blaine glared. Cooper chuckled. "Fine, fine. What can I help you with?"

"I met this guy and—"

"Handsome as I am, I don't know how to attract guys."

"That isn't my issue."

"Oh?"

"Well, I asked him out and—oomph!"

Cooper had launched from his swivel chair and tackled Blaine in a tight bear hug. His face was aglow with joy, curiosity, and mischief, his eyes bright and his smile wide.

"Huzzah! My baby brother is going on his very first date!"

"I'm not a ba—" Cooper's hand clamped over Blaine's mouth.

"Hush, let's not ruin the moment! Sooooooo...this guy has a name. What is it?"

"Kurt."

"I like it! And what is this Kurt like?"

"Perfect," Blaine said with a far-off, happily dazed look.

"Oh, wow, you've got it bad, huh?" Cooper said as he poked Blaine playfully in the ribs.

"Hey!" Blaine exclaimed as he retaliated with a smack to Cooper's arm. They both laughed a bit until Blaine spoke.

"So, let's get down to business—"

"TO DEFEAT...THE HUUUUNNNNS!"

"Coop, I'm serious! I need your help, here!" he said sternly, his grin betraying him.

"So, you got the date. What do you need my help for?"

"The date."

"I'm gonna need you to be a bit more specific than that. Please elaborate."

"Well, I need to...you know...plan it."

At this, Cooper pushed Blaine into the swivel chair and raced to the whiteboard, whisking up a marker and scrawling "Mission: Blainey's First Date" at the top before turning dramatically to face his brother.

"Then plan it we shall! Any plans so far?"

"I'm picking him up at his house on Friday at seven and we're going to the Milano Café."

Cooper finished writing the main points on the board.

"Good, good. Excellent choice. Now...hmmm...let's see..."

Blaine squirmed nervously in his seat. This was Cooper's goal, really. He didn't actually need time to think, he just liked making Blaine squirm. He already had a plan. When he'd had enough, he rapidly mapped it out on the board before him. Once he had completed his masterpiece, he turned from the board with a flourish wearing a sly smile.

"So! This is the plan."

**Chapter End Notes: **

So...the big night's coming up! Are you excited? They are!

Please review and let me know what you think :)


	6. Getting Ready

**AN:** I have been putting things from my Scarves&Coffee account here so there have been several chapters all at once, but this will be the last one for a bit. From here on out, there will be a bit of a wait between chapters, but I will update as soon as I can :)

**Chapter 6: Getting Ready**

The rest of the week passed in a blissful blur for Kurt. Before he knew it, he was giving Finn a ride home from school on Friday and it suddenly hit him. _I am going on a date with Blaine. Tonight. _The nerves he had managed to evade hit him full force and he began to freak out. This frightened Finn, who (as usual) was completely clueless as to his stepbrother's thought process and was afraid Kurt may be sick or possibly possessed. They get home and before Finn can ask Kurt what's wrong, Kurt's already out of the car and rushing to his room. He shuts the door behind him and tosses his bag on the floor before collapsing on his back on the bed and rubbing his hands over his face. He had a date. An actual date. With a boy. A nice, sexy, talented gay boy. He could _not _screw this up. _What should I wear? Do I need money or would Blaine pay? What do I talk about? Will it be awkward? What if he wants to kiss me goodnight? I don't know how to kiss! What if—_Kurt's mental freak-out was interrupted by the sound of his phone ringing. He groaned as he lifted himself from the bed and grabbed his phone from his bag.

"Hello," he answered.

"Kurt?" he heard Blaine's nervous voice ask timidly.

"Yes?"

"Hi!"

"Hello."

"Um...it's Blaine."

Kurt giggled. "I know it's you, Blaine, I know what your voice sounds like."

"Oh...really?"

"Yes, really. Also, ever heard of this nifty thing called caller ID?"

Kurt swore he could hear Blaine blush over the phone. "Oh! Right. I...um...I forgot. I feel really stupid, sorry. I'm just nervous." Kurt smiled and breathed a sigh of relief, feeling at least a bit more relaxed because he wasn't the only one who was nervous and also because hearing Blaine's voice was oddly soothing. "You aren't alone. I am, too. I guess we'll be nervous together."

"Yeah, I guess so. But hopefully not for too long, I'd like to think we'll get past it."

"Somehow I think we will." There was a pause. "Blaine?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you just call me to tell me you're nervous or was there some other reason?"

"Oh! Right! Sorry! I just wanted to ask you something."

"Ask away, then."

"Would you mind a minor change of plans?"

Kurt's heart dropped. Did Blaine not want to go on the date? "I'm not sure. What kind of change are you proposing?"

"It's fine if you don't want to, but I was thinking that, you know, we could get the food to go and have a picnic instead of eating at the restaurant? Only if you want, though. You know what, nevermind, it was a stupid idea, I never should've let Coop—"

"Blaine!" Kurt interjected, "It isn't a stupid idea. It sounds great, actually."

"Really?"

"Definitely." Kurt paused briefly before adding, "Who's Coop?"

"He's just my older brother. He's...it's...I'll tell you more about him later, okay? I should probably let you go get ready now, and I have some things to do as well, so I'll see you at seven?"

"You will, indeed."

"Wait! Kurt! Don't hang up!"

"I'm here. What now?"

"What do you want? To eat, you know, so I can order it and pick it up for our picnic? And, is there anything you're really opposed to having? Do you have any allergies?"

"I don't have allergies and I don't know what to get. I trust you to order food that tastes good. Don't let me down."

"I hope I don't."

"Also, where will this picnic be?"

"_That,_ dearest, is a surprise."

"I don't like surprises."

"You'll like this one. At least, I hope you will. Feel free to slap me or something if you don't."

"That's a dangerous thing to say, Blaine."

"I'm aware. Well, I've gotta go. I really will hang up this time, I promise."

"Are you absolutely sure?"

"Yes."

"Okay, then. Bye, Blaine."

"Bye Kurt."

Kurt hung up his phone with a huge grin, then tossed it onto the bed. Then, he began to squeal and bounce up and down, unable to contain his excitement. He heard Finn's thundering footsteps as he fumbled down the stairs and crashed into Kurt's room.

"Dude! Are you okay?"

"I'm wonderful," Kurt responded dreamily.

Finn took a step back, obviously puzzled. "Sorry, I thought I heard you scream or something."

"Nope. Everything is positively perfect in every way," Kurt singsonged.

"Alright, dude. You sure? You've just been acting kinda weird today and, like—"

"Finn, your concern is touching, really, but I'm fine. Don't worry."

"Just let me know if you wanna talk or something, alright?"

"I will. Now, go. Be gone. Play video games or stuff your face with food, I have work to do."

Once Finn was safely outside his room with the door shut behind him, Kurt proceeded to twirl about his room, singing under his breath as he set about preparing for his date.

Blaine gulped as he stood on Kurt's doorstep, trying to calm his nerves enough to gain some composure before ringing the doorbell. He was startled when the door opened without warning to reveal a tall, slightly intimidating man wearing sneakers, jeans and an ill-fitting flannel shirt. Blaine wondered briefly how someone related to Kurt could dress like that before remembering how terrified he was. He must have looked quite startled, as the man in the doorway seemed somewhat amused.

"So, were you planning on standing out there all night?"

"No, sir, I was just here to—"

"Pick my son up to take him on his first date, I know. He told me." The man, Kurt's father, seemed to be examining Blaine, making Blaine squirm under his scrutinizing gaze. Seemingly satisfied, he spoke again.

"So...Blaine, right?"

"Yes, sir."

"Don't 'sir' me, kid. Call me Burt. Would you like to wait inside until Kurt's ready? He shouldn't be much longer now. He wouldn't abandon you with me too long," Burt said, cracking a smile.

Blaine smiled back nervously. Kurt's dad seemed like a good man, and he hadn't threatened to shoot him yet, so Blaine felt that things were going pretty well thus far. "Thank you, Burt," he said as he stepped inside. Once inside, he tensed up. What should he do now? Should he sit? Or stand? If he did sit, where should he sit?

"Relax, Blaine. Take a seat on the couch. You have no reason to be scared of me." Blaine relaxed a bit. "Not yet, at least." Blaine tensed again. "We'll be fine as long as you're good to Kurt and as long as I think you're good _for _Kurt. If you seem to be a bad influence, though, or hurt him in any way, _then _you'll have good reason to worry." Blaine gulped. He could tell Burt was completely serious. It was good Kurt had him, but it was also terrifying, to a certain extent. While Blaine had absolutely no plans to hurt Kurt, he knew he wasn't perfect and might screw up and he really didn't want to die. Blaine's face brightened and he stood as he saw Kurt descending the stairs with an effortless grace Blaine himself couldn't achieve even if he tried. He was beautiful, as he always was, clad in black leather ankle-boots, dark-wash skintight jeans, blue scarf, and what seemed to be gray button-up shirt peeking out from underneath his double-breasted black jacket with silver buttons.

Burt turned from his place to see what Blaine was looking at and smiled at the sight of his son. He felt as if he was being tackled by all the emotions and thoughts in his head. _My son is about to go on his first date. Elizabeth would have been so happy to see this. Damn, how did he grow up so fast? _Burt turned back to Blaine to find the boy's face painted with a dopey smile, eyes full of wonder and adoration, and he felt some of the uneasiness about letting his son go on a date subside. He smiled a little wider. He liked this Blaine kid. He was polite and seemed pretty decent and sincere and he quite obviously adored Kurt, so Burt felt some of his apprehension fade. Kurt seemed like he was going to say something when he reached the bottom of the stairs, but was cut off as Burt tackled him in a bear hug. He couldn't help it. His little boy was growing up. As much as he loved seeing how much Kurt has grown and as much as he loves watching Kurt develop as a person, part of him wished he could keep Kurt with him forever.

"Dad, you're embarrassing me," grumbled Kurt as he squirmed, attempting to maneuver his way out of his father's strong grasp.

"Sorry, kiddo. You're just growin' up so fast." Burt gave Kurt one last squeeze before releasing him. "Alright, bud, I'll let you get going now."

Blaine and Kurt walked to each other, shifting awkwardly for a minute until settling on a hug. They exchanged a few words, laughed a little, and started walking to the door. "Blaine" The boy looked back at him. "Make sure to have Kurt home by 10:30 at the latest."

"I will."

"Alright. Have a good time." They turned to leave, Burt watching them as they walked to the car. "And no funny business!" he called out as they neared the vehicle.

"Dad!" Kurt yelped, blushing, irritated, and indignant.

Burt chuckled. "Okay, okay. Bye."

"Bye dad!"

"Goodbye, Mr. Hummel. I mean, uh, Burt."

Burt watched as Blaine opened Kurt's door, watched as both boys got in the car and buckled their seatbelts, and kept watching as they drove away until the car was out of sight, then sighed. _There he goes, _thought Burt wistfully as he stepped back inside and closed the door behind him. He then strode into the kitchen to where Finn kept all his junk food. _Well,_ Burt thought, _Might as well take advantage of Kurt's absence, right? _He opened the cupboard and grabbed a bag of chips, but stopped when he saw a note attached to it.

_Dear Dad,_

_I know I'm not at home right now, but just because I'm on a date doesn't mean you can pig out. Really, I'm careful about what I let you eat for your own good. Someone in science did some project of the science involved in cooking and brought cookies, so I saved you one. I hid it at the fruit bowl so Finn wouldn't get to it. It won't be as good as mine, but consider it a consolation prize. I love you and I'll see you when I get home._

_Love, Kurt_

Burt smiled and shook his head. _My son is unbelievable, _he thought to himself as he dug through the fruit bowl for the cookie. _And fantastic,_he added as he took a bite.

**Chapter End Notes:**

The actual date is coming up, I promise! I'll update as soon as I can.

Please review and let me know what you think :)

Also, I adore you and thank you for reading.

I adore you and thank you even more profusely for reviewing ;)


	7. The Date

**Chapter 7: The Date**

Kurt had been afraid things might be awkward on the date, especially on the drive there, but he was happy to be proven wrong. Almost all the nerves he had before were calmed by Blaine's presence. With Blaine, everything was just...easier. There were no awkward silences or lulls in conversation and everything just seemed natural, as if he and Blaine had known each other for years, but it was exciting and new, too. The drive hadn't been completely devoid of awkwardness—this was real life, after all—but it had passed quickly. After Blaine got in the car and started the engine, there was a heavy silence, pierced only by the noise of the car as they drove.

"So," Blaine said, "are you nervous, or is it just me?"

Kurt sighed in relief and the tension the silence had brought melted as swiftly as it had arrived. "Yes, I am. It isn't just you."

"Okay, good. That's good to know. I'd like to think that I'm usually much more eloquent and much less...well, much less of a nervous wreck, like I am right now. I just really want this to be perfect for you."

"It's a first date, Blaine. It's not going to be perfect. A perfect first date would be unnatural. I'm sure it will be nice, though, at the very least, and will, hopefully, be great."

Blaine beamed. "You are amazing, Kurt. I'm so glad you agreed to this."  
"I'm glad you asked me."

"And, once again, I apologize for the nerves. It's just that I know that, no matter what we do or where we go, I will be happy with it because I'll be with you, but I'm just scared you won't like what I have planned. I don't want to be a disappointment. You deserve the very best, Kurt, and I'm freaking out trying to provide that for you."

Kurt looked across the car at Blaine in complete awe. How was he real? Kurt smiled. "That is one of the sweetest things anyone has ever said to me," he said. "I already have the best, because I have you. You're the best, Blaine. So let's both just stop worrying and have a great date."

Blaine looked briefly over at Kurt before turning back to face the road. "You're the best, too, Kurt. And that sounds like an excellent idea."

The remainder of the drive from Kurt's house to the mystery location passed rapidly. They spent their time talking about the drama, people, and music of glee club, Kurt filling him in on all the events that had come to pass within the club since its beginning, as well as whatever else came to mind. A few minutes into the drive, Blaine gave Kurt his iPod to put on some music and serve as the official DJ for the rest of the way there. Kurt happily accepted and picked a song, singing along when it began to play.

At first hearing Kurt's voice, Blaine nearly crashed the car. He then pulled over and apologized, saying "I am so sorry, Kurt! All I want is to make this the best first date ever and I almost got us killed!"

"What happened to scare you, though? Are you alright?" Kurt asked, confused.

"I'm fine, it's just...god, Kurt, your voice."

"What about it?" Kurt snapped sharply in reply. "Too girly for you?"

"No! No, no, goodness, no, Kurt. It's just so clear and special and gorgeous that I was surprised. I was in shock, sort of, I guess. I love your voice."

Kurt looked stunned by Blaine's outburst. "Oh," he said, simply.

"Oh?"

"I've just...no one has really said anything like that before. About my voice, I mean. I'm sorry I got so defensive, I'm just used to people teasing me about my it and how high and girly it is."

"Really?" Kurt nodded. Blaine shook his head in disbelief. "Well, they're just stupid, then, because your voice is without a doubt the most beautiful sound I have ever heard, Kurt."

Kurt met Blaine's eyes and was shocked at the sincerity reflected in them. Blaine hadn't even said what he said as a compliment, but, rather, had spoken it as if it were a simple, obvious statement of fact. "Thank you," he mumbled, shyly.

"No thanks necessary."

After that, all their time in the car that they weren't talking, they were singing to whatever music Kurt chose to play, rifling through Blaine's music library that had songs ranging from Broadway to Katy Perry to Roxy music to play his favorites. Throughout the drive, Kurt tried desperately to pry their destination out of Blaine, but he gave up after a while because he could tell that Blaine obviously wouldn't budge. Kurt noticed that they were driving a somewhat roundabout route and was sure that Blaine was doing so to confuse him even more, so he resigned himself to his fate of being surprised. Now, they sat in comfortable silence, save for the radio playing softly as Blaine was driving and Kurt was letting his mind wander, trying to guess what the mystery location could be. They pulled to a stop, at last, at Schoonover Park.

"Alright, we're here!" Blaine announced, getting out of the car and running to the other side to open Kurt's door for him.

"Do you need help carrying anything? Food or a blanket or something?"

"Nonsense! It's a date, you don't have to work!"

"It's hardly work, Blaine, let me help."

"I would, but I'm afraid it's too late. I set up a place for us earlier."

"But—"

"My brother insisted that he help in some way, so he kept an eye on it for a while."

"Blaine, please tell me your brother isn't chaperoning this date."

"He isn't, don't worry. He gave me his word that as soon as he saw us approaching, he would—and I quote—'vanish like a ninja into the night.'"

"Your brother sounds like an interesting guy, Blaine," Kurt said after a brief pause. "Weird, but interesting."

"He is. Enough about him, though. This is our date, after all."

_ Our date._ Kurt didn't think he'd ever get tired of hearing those words together in reference to Blaine and himself. He smiled. "It is, isn't it? Alright, let's go. Lead the way."

Blaine grabbed his hand and Kurt's stomach flipped at the feel of Blaine's skin against his own. Blaine led them as they walked through the park toward the lake, and Kurt let out a gasp as they turned a corner, revealing the place Blaine set up. The park looked beautiful at night, the lush green grass leading down to the smooth lake that reflected the stars above, but tonight there was something special. By the lake, there was a kind of canopy-like thing adorned with a string of little white lights. Underneath the canopy lay several colored blankets and a few large, plush-looking pillows. In the middle of the setup sat a pretty wicker picnic basket. The final touch was the small collection of pretty paper lanterns that hung from the top of the canopy and shed light on the area.

"Wow," said Kurt, slightly breathless. "You really don't do anything halfway, do you?"

"I don't," Blaine confirmed. "So, what do you think? Are you going to slap me for surprising you?" he inquired with a smirk.

"Not this time, no," Kurt answered. "I suppose not all surprises are bad."

"Told you." Kurt stuck his tongue out and wrinkled his face up at Blaine.

"Mature."

"Oh, shut up," Kurt said, face returning to normal as he chuckled. "But seriously, Blaine, this is incredible. I don't know how you're ever going to follow this up."  
Blaine perked up, a hopeful look in his eyes. "Are you implying that I'll have the opportunity to follow this up?"

"We'll see."

"Well, I suppose that's preferable to a flat-out 'no,' so I'm still hopeful."

Blaine tugged lightly at Kurt's hand and led the way as they began walking together to the little paradise Blaine had set up for their date. Once they got there, they stopped and Blaine turned to Kurt.

"Would you mind terribly if we removed our shoes? It's just that I don't want to get the blankets too dirty and it will be more comfortable. I promise my feet don't stink! I brought some fuzzy socks in case you don't want to be barefoot or its too cold. I realize they aren't the most fashionable things, but—"

"Blaine, breathe," Kurt interrupted. "It's fine. That was very thoughtful of you. I would like to take you up on your offer of fuzzy socks."

Kurt was somewhat surprised at his own answer. His shoes were fantastic and tied his entire outfit together and, in any other circumstance, Kurt would cling to them for dear life. Also, as comfortable as fuzzy socks may be, they didn't exactly enhance his artfully-assembled outfit. He knew that if the offer had come from anyone else, he would have refused, but it was such an adorable gesture and it was _Blaine_. It was Blaine, this sweet, wonderful, breathtaking boy that Kurt had known for less than a week but who Kurt felt so comfortable with. Kurt could already feel himself falling head over heels for Blaine and cursed himself for it because it was insane and Kurt didn't even know him and...yeah. Kurt was in trouble. Good trouble, but trouble. He would worry about that later, though. At the moment, he decided to focus entirely on his very first date.

Oblivious to Kurt's mental ramblings, Blaine let out a relieved sigh and smiled brightly upon hearing Kurt's reply. "Of course!" Blaine trotted over to a bag that was rested along a leg of what held up the canopy and dug around briefly. When he found what he was after, he trotted back to Kurt and held out two still-wrapped pairs of fuzzy socks—one blue and one red. "Pick one," he prompted. Kurt deliberated between the two shortly, then accepted the blue pair.

Once both boys changed into their fuzzy socks, they sat down on the blankets and pillows in front of the picnic basket. "So," Blaine began as he started to unpack the basket, "I don't know much about you, so I don't know what food you like, and I don't know anything about dating, so I don't know what people usually eat on dates, so I hope the meal I have for us tonight is to your liking. The only frame of reference I could think of for finding date-appropriate dining choices was Lady and the Tramp, so our main course this evening is spaghetti and meatballs. I have some strawberries for after that, too, because they taste good and that's all I was able to think of. Oh! And to drink, we have sparkling apple cider. Or, if you don't like that, there's also water."

Kurt couldn't believe this was real. Kurt couldn't believe _Blaine_ was real. He was simply too adorable. He set up a plush canopy in the park by the lake under the stars, then offered fuzzy socks and revealed that he had used _Lady and the Tramp_ as a frame of reference for planning their date. Kurt had to suppress the urge to giggle at the image that conjured in his mind of Blaine nudging a meatball across his plate. This didn't happen on first dates in real life. This had to be a dream. He was going to wake up, he thought, and then Blaine would take him to Breadstix or something, and they'd have a nice, normal time. But he was very much awake, and this perfect, sweet, lovely date was really happening and—

"Kurt?" asked Blaine. "Are you alright? Does that not sound good? We can do something else, if you want, I—"

Kurt clapped his hand gently over Blaine's mouth, effectively shutting him up. "It sounds great, Blaine. Thank you. Relax, okay?" Blaine nodded in response and Kurt removed his hand from Blaine's face. He settled into a comfortable position atop a large pillow as Blaine continued to unload the basket, listening to the soft chirps of the crickets and taking a deep breath as he waited, glancing briefly out across the peaceful water and admiring the way it reflected the moon. When he looked back at Blaine, Blaine was in the process of pouring the apple cider into what appeared to be champagne flutes. Kurt tried and failed to stifle his laughter at the champagne flutes because _seriously?_ Finally giving up, Kurt burst into a full-on fit of giggles.

"What's so funny?" Blaine said, cocking his head to the side, much like a curious puppy. _How can a human being be that adorable?_ thought Kurt. Smiling—because it seemed he couldn't help but smile when he was with Blaine—he responded "Nothing, it's just...nothing. Nevermind. Please, continue."

"Nothing is ever 'nothing,' Kurt. Now I need to know."

"Just forget I said anything."

"Pleeeeeeeeease?" begged Blaine, shamelessly, as he actually got down on his knees next to Kurt, looking at him pleadingly with the most adorable and irresistible puppy dog face in the history of time.

"That's cheating!" Kurt exclaimed. "That face. That face is not fair."

"What?" Blaine asked with wide eyes and feigned innocence. "You mean this face?" He then—and Kurt didn't know how this was possible—amped up the strength and adorability of his puppy dog face and damn, Kurt couldn't help but cave in.

"Fine," Kurt relented.

A pause. Crickets chirped. Blaine waited. Kurt took a deep breath. Then, at last, he answered. "I just think that—you—this—I...I just...I can't believe this is real." Kurt's confession was followed by a moment of silence. Suddenly, Blaine pinched Kurt, causing Kurt to puncture the silence with a high-pitched squeal, after which he turned and shot Blaine an incredulous look.

"Believe it now?" asks Blaine, eyes aglow with a glint of mischief.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "I guess so." Both boys joined in laughter until Kurt took a breath, straightened his posture, and put on a haughty expression. "That face is still not fair, though," Kurt said, matter-of-factly, as he crossed his arms.

"All's fair in love and war, doll," Blaine quipped with a grin.

Kurt's eyes widened in shock. His jaw dropped. _What. Even. How? But...what?_ Upon seeing Kurt's expression and, subsequently, realizing exactly what he had said, Blaine's eyes widened and he smacked his hand over his mouth.

A long, heavy silence fell. Finally, Kurt broke it.

"...did you just say that you love me?"


	8. Good

Note: College and life and whatnot have been relentless and I haven't been able to update, so I'm sorry. It's pretty short, but I hope you enjoy it :)

**Chapter 8: Good**

"...did you just say that you love me?"

"No! I mean yes—well, no." Blaine responded, abruptly. Kurt's face fell. "Not that I don't!" rushed Blaine. "I mean...sort of? It's just...I'm not sure. I don't know. Yet. I like you and I care about you and I am attracted to you, but I'm not in love with you. Yet. I think that I probably will be, though, before long." Kurt smiled. He took a moment to take it in before he spoke. "I feel the same way."

A wave of relief washed over Blaine. "Oh, thank heavens!"

"'Thank heavens?' Are you a time traveller? What era are you from?" Kurt couldn't help but tease, playfully.

Blaine grumbled, but couldn't hide his smile. "Shut up."

"Never."

"Good. I like hearing you talk, Kurt."

"Good. Because you'll be hearing me talk a lot, Blaine."

"Good. I look forward to it, Kurt."

"Good. I think we should stop saying 'good' now, Blaine."

"If you insist, doll," Blaine conceded, grabbing Kurt's hand.

Kurt took a moment to think about that. _Doll. _He hadn't really had a pet name before. Not in a romantic context, anyway. His dad called him "bud," Mercedes occasionally called him "boo," and Sue had taken to calling him "Porcelain," but this felt...different.

"Kurt? Hello? Earth to Kurt," he heard Blaine saying next to him.

"Huh? What? Oh, yeah. Hi." He blushed.

"Welcome back. I lost you there for a minute. Something on your mind?"

"Yeah. Nothing important, though."

At this, Blaine studied Kurt, trying to discern whether or not to pursue this line of questioning. He decided against it in the end, though. Instead, he decided to make the most of his accidental semi-confession. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself—he was about to take a pretty big risk, after all—and found his voice to speak up.

"Kurt?"

"Yes, Blaine?

"I know this is unconventional and incredibly forward of me, but, I was wondering..." he trailed off. This was his last chance to turn back. Once the next words passed his lips, there would be no chance of taking them back.

"Yes?" Kurt prompted.

"Since I think I could fall in love with you, and you think you could fall in love with me..."

"Do you want to be my boyfriend?" Kurt blurted, suddenly.

Blaine's eyes widened in shock. Then, he huffed out a laugh and nervously fidgeted with his bow tie. "You beat me to it. So, um...yeah. Now that you guessed my question, would you be so kind as to provide an answer? No rush, I mean, but—"

"Blaine." Blaine's mouth snapped shut with an audible click of his teeth. "I was cutting you off because I was asking you if you wanted to be my boyfriend."

Kurt was smiling. That was a good sign. It took some time for the words to sink in, but when they did, Blaine almost literally leapt for joy. Almost. "So...I'll take that as a 'yes'?" Blaine responded, tentatively. He had to make sure he hadn't just imagined Kurt's words.

Kurt pulled Blaine closer to him, feeling suddenly emboldened by the giddy rush of the moment, tugging the front of his shirt to bring the bowtied-boy down to sit facing him. "Of course, silly. I would love to be your boyfriend."

Blaine surged toward Kurt with such force that they both toppled over until they were lying down and wrapped his arms around the beautiful blue-eyed boy beside him and snuggled into him with a happy sigh. "I would love for you to be my boyfriend, too," he mumbled contentedly, a large, truly joyful smile spreading across his face as he felt a warm and fuzzy tingling feeling throughout his entire body.

They continued to snuggle, basking in the awe, joy, and excitement of what just happened. Blaine was lost in a dreamy bubble of happiness and thoughts of Kurt, relishing the feeling of holding Kurt against him, feeling his chest rise and fall with each breath he took, and feeling the tickle of those breaths on the back of his neck.

"You called me 'doll'," Kurt stated, out of nowhere.

Blaine was brought down from his bubble of joy. "I did. Is that ok?" he responded, nervously.

"Depends. Why 'doll?'"

"Because you're adorable and too perfect to be real," came Blaine's immediate response.

A smile lit up Kurt's face. "Yes, Blaine. That is very okay."

"And," Blaine said, looking up at Kurt with a mischievous smirk, "you're probably fun to play with, too," he quipped, cheekily.

"Blaine!" Kurt said, sitting up and smacking Blaine's arm playfully even as he giggled.

"Okay, I deserved that. Sorry, couldn't resist. Now, we should probably eat before the food gets cold."

"Good! I'm starving!"

"I thought we agreed that we were going to stop saying 'good' for this evening."

"I'm hungry. Don't expect me to be eloquent. You're lucky I'm not speaking like a caveman."

"Very well, then. We'd better feed you before you lose your command over the English language entirely."

"We'd better."

Blaine stared in awe at Kurt. Incomparably gorgeous, stunning, wonderful Kurt. Kurt with his sharp wit, a great sense of humor, a beautiful voice, a heart-warming smile, a good heart, a winning personality, and a magnificent ass. The word "magnificent" didn't even do it justice, but do you really expect him to be a wordsmith when thinking about Kurt's ass? It's a wonder he can manage coherent thought. Blaine stared at Kurt, smiling like an idiot. Kurt shifted uncomfortably.

"Do I have something on my face?" Kurt asked, self-conscious.

"No."

"Then why are you looking at me like that?"

"I'm just...happy. I can't believe that you're mine. You're my _boyfriend_. You're _my_ boyfriend."

The entire evening, from then on, was filled with smiles, talk, laughter, food, and cuddles. It was damn near perfect. When it was finally time to go, Kurt insisted on helping Blaine clean up, then Blaine drove him home. After he drops Kurt off, Blaine does a happy dance. He doesn't realize Burt and Kurt are both watching until he spins and sees them smiling amusedly at him from behind the window. Kurt waved. Blaine, who had frozen, managed to raise his hand and wave back, blushing. Then, he composed himself, straightened up, and danced proudly and deliberately back to the car, mentally declaring "I meant to do that. It's part of my clever plan to seduce you with my silliness."

Upon settling in the driver's seat, Blaine let out a happy sigh. It had been a good night.

End Notes: Please give me feedback/reviews to let me know how I'm doing! I love you and thank you for reading this. I do apologize for the inconsistency of my updates, but I promise I won't abandon any of my stories.


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